Construction of the Hood was initially ordered in 1916, but was delayed when the Battle of Jutland brought serious problems with Battle-Cruiser design to light. Redesigned after the battle, Hood was to have been the biggest and most powerful Battle-Cruiser ever built... but sadly by 1918 when she put to sea she was very outdated and her sister ships of the class (3 more ships of this design) were broken up on the slips or cancelled.

By the time of her encounter with the Bismark, the Hood was well over-due for a full modernisation and over-haul and was in a truly sad state of condition. She couldn`t make her full speed due to leaks in boilers and steam pipes, her hull was badly fouled and she`d stripped a turbine trying to reach 28 of her designed 32 knots speed. Her armour wasn`t any where near that of more modern ships her size and her guns were a lower calibre than that of her opponent.

HMS Hood was sunk in the North Atlantic, May 24th/ 1941 when she and the Prince of Whales engaged the Bismark, during the Battle of Denmark Strait. A shell from the Bizmark`s guns passed through her lightly armoured decks, penetrated the aft powder magazines, ignited her 4inch powder stores, and led to a detonation that disintegrated the stern 3rd of the ship! Of 1418 Crew and Officers on board, there were only 3 survivors, but her loss became a rallying cry for the her nation and the Royal Navy.